2018 budget: National Theatre workers protest proposed sale

By Bimbola Oyesola

Workers of the National Arts Theatre yesterday at a protest in Lagos vowed to resist the proposed sale of the national edifice by the Federal Government to fund the 2018 budget.
The workers under the umbrella of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service Technical and Recreation Service Employees (AUPCTRE) said it would not augur well for the country if the theatre that serves as a national monument is sold off to the highest bidder.
Carrying different placards against the sale, they said all the national monument needs is change of management and not ownership.
The Vice Chairman of the union, Dayo Akogun, said selling off the National Theatre to fund the 2018 budget was an idea that shouldn’t see the light of day as the sale of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to private investors was an example of how not to privatise national investments.
Taking protesters round the theatre, Akogun said non-performance of the theatre as is being mooted by the government as reason for the proposed sale was an afterthought and was far from the truth.
He said the workers, as a patriotic Nigerians, would also resist the attempt to sell the theatre, which is one of Nigeria’s monuments, to politicians. “Our passion for the country is also why we do not want the national monument to be sold off to people who won’t cater to the needs of the workers working at the theatre,” he said.
He said the newly elected branch chairman of the union has done a lot to put the theatre into good shape by effecting various repairs, which appear not to be appreciated by the Federal Government.
Akogun said corruption and bad management were responsible for the bad state of the monument.
“If the challenges in the system are tackled, the National Theatre can work effectively and generate funds. We need managers that will help us attract patronage rather than promote its sale,’’ he said.
Lagos State Chairman, Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU), Mr. Dare Durosimi, at the protest, said government should rather tackle challenges affecting the monument instead of selling it.
Durosimi said that RATTAWU was not in support of the proposed sale and would support AUPCTRE’s decision to campaign against it.